Vladimir Demchenko keeps working hard in summer and BRAVO-6 released many new kits on July.rnrnThe last two of the 5 new kits are B6-35076 Shotgunners and B6-35079 Mech Mule Driver.rn

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I love the shotgunners! Vlad is really bringing out some interesting Nam figures indeed.

You can count on Vladi to create some interesting and some useful figures. The Shotgunners are the interesting figures as nobody had depicted such activity so well in terms of poses and skill at sculpting the uniform details as well as proper anatomy. I do not particularly care for the subject as doing drugs in the field is a good way to get yourself or someone else killed, but I do know at the firebases and rear areas drug use did occur. War is mostly boring and the stuff was easily available and I guess for some people it took the stresses of combat off their minds for a while. Since alot people who did not have family members who served in Vietnam gain their impression of what Vietnam was like through films like Platoon and such, I can see this figure set finding its way into many a diorama not in the proper context such as having the figures out in the jungle instead of at a FSB or that some may think that this practice was the norm. I know there is that film footage from the 70's of a group of guys in the jungle shotgunning for the cameras, but as an Infantryman myself, I find that to be a dangerous activity to participate in out in the field. In my dioramas these guys will be converted to do something else.

The useful figure is the Mule driver which is also a very well done figure in terms of uniform details and correct anatomy. I can use him for several things so I look forward to converting both sets of figures for my upcoming diorama projects.

Excellent work, Vladi!
Cheers,
James

Gotta agree with James here. Yes, drug use did happen in Vietnam, but it was not as common as Hollywood would like us to believe. The Shotgunners figures are more Hollywood than reality. Too bad some are going to take them as "how it was" and use them all over the place. I would rather more reality-based, quality figures than Hollywood based-figures.

I agree that this sort of behaviour wasn't the norm, and that Hollywood really has put a spin on what the War really was. However, to deny that this sort of thing took place on NDP's and FSB's (not just in the rear areas) would be to deny the reality of Vietnam. Unfortunately, after 1968, there were some units who experienced major problems in terms of ill-discipline, drug usage and low morale in general. Anyway, I think the figures are interesting and well moulded. But I agree that they would need to be appropriate placed if one were to use them in a diorama. Along with the 'Lookin' Better Every Beer set'.

Verlinden had a trooper wearing headband and sunglasses, seated on the ground, smoking a pipe! Would pair up nicely with the shotgunners!

I'm with Vladi on this: this **** happened, and it's no more unusual than other figures in unusual poses. The Mule driver is very good, too, and I could use him in a dio I'm working on.

I don't think anybody is denying that this stuff happened as it most certainly did, especially as the war continued on and discipline started breaking down and morale was getting worse. My father served two tours in Vietnam from 1966 through 1968 and never touched the stuff because it was not a smart thing to do out in the field. Most Infantry, Mech Infantry, LRRP, and other combat arms types who had to remain alert either to counter the enemy or to provide support such as artillery where you had to be clear headed to make sure the rounds hit where they were supposed to could not afford to get high on the job. Now back on stand down or at a FSB, then their guard was let down some and some partook in the activity, but in the field it is not wise to do so.

I served as a Mechanized Infantry grunt in Vietnam, '67 to '68 with 2/47th Infantry (Mech) 9th Inf. Div. through the Tet Offensive. My six-years younger brother, Tim, served as a Huey Door-Gunner with the 1st Signal Bde. in '71-'72. Our war experiences were vastly different, and that included the level of drug use by U.S. troops in-country. I abhor the Hollywood and the media's portrayal (betrayal) of Vietnam veterans that has formed much of the public's perception of that war and its warriors. However, I know from discussions with Tim and veterans from my battalion who served right at the end of its deployment, in 1970 that much had changed

Whoops! Didn't mean to hit the enter key - to finish the thought: I think the period of the war should have a bearing on the drug abuse in the field being depicted in a diorama. While marijuana was widely available, even in "factory-made", filtered, form in packs and full cartons (Paxtons) during my time, I never saw, smelled or heard of its use in combat situations. Hard drugs in our unit were unheard of. The very idea of smoking a joint in a laager or FSB, in or around our tracks, is ludicrous to me. I can't speak for the "cannon-cockers" and others in the center of the FSB, but we grunts on the perimeter would not have dreamed of it. But I have been told by the CO of my own Charlie Company who commanded when they were the first unit to cross the Cambodian border in May, 1970, that combat refusal by some elements and drug abuse was widespread in the ranks. That's hearsay, but I am certain things had changed a great deal by then, and even more so during my brother's tour of duty.

Here you go.

Soldiers Smoking Weed During Vietnam War

Randy